Label:Black ForestWhen the drivers of Harpoon Distributing Company are finished delivering brewery-fresh beer throughout the neighborhoods of Boston, they spend time moonlighting with Harpoon’s brewers. In 2012, they developed a version of a cherry chocolate porter that was a favorite at our annual home-brew competition. It didn’t take long for the brewing staff to work up a 10-barrel test batch and we knew we had to make more.

A hearty malt base is complemented by sweet cherry juice and cocoa nibs added during fermentation in this decadent take on a traditional porter.

Notes of rich chocolate and a hint of cherry sweetness make this full bodied porter the perfect treat to share now or to cellar until next Valentine’s Day.___

Thanks once again to Aaron Mendiola at beermetaldude.com for the hookup of this sweet beer. Yet another brewery we don’t see here in California. This one is from Boston Massachusetts and apparently ended up being really good and sweet as I read about it. This I had to see for myself so I was glad to get the opportunity to give it a shot. So here it goes, the Harpoon Black Forest, cheers!

Overall:If you love sweet beers, especially chocolate and cherry ones, then this one is just an example of a beer that definitely exceeds my expectations in that department by a few notches. The Chocolate and Cherry are a complete win here with some additional complexity while it still reminds you that you are drinking a porter. A porter with no head retention and very delicious. I really wish we could get this one here in California, I would definitely drink this one all the time. Thanks again Aaron!

Anime Corner:Saber Alter and Matou Sakura from Fatestay Night were used in this pairing because as the name goes, black forest, I wanted to show not only the pairing of the name but the flavors. As you can see from the colors in these pictures, they pretty much represent all the nice complexities that the beer has to offer and prominently the dark cherries and chocolate flavors. This beer is so damn good and the fact that these characters are evil, it represents the seductive qualities such that the beer is so smooth and yet strong at the same time.